Sandals Barbados

Shaq, Shontelle, & Mya were the best butlers! They were very communicative and attended to our every need. They brought us extra treats and always accompanied us on the walk to dinner. They kept our room stocked with drinks and were constantly checking in our us! I couldn't recommend them more! Soy was also our favorite restaurant! The sushi was delicious.

Always a GREAT time in Sandals Carribean resorts!! From the food/exquisite dining options to the service to the beautiful sand beaches & poolside/swim up bars, plus all the nighttime entertainment, we enjoyed ourselves very much!! As always, you get to meet amazing Staff who are so kind & helpful, and each time we meet various other travelers/people groups/couples along the way to befriend. Thank you, Barbados for an unforgettable vacation away from home! Until next time… !!! With love, B & E | April 2026 XOXO

My husband and I were visiting Barbados for the first time, though it wasn’t our first stay at Sandals. My in-laws had already been here before the Royal was built. We liked the resort — it’s a lush, peaceful setting where you can really relax. However, we came during a period of construction, and it affected our overall experience. We weren’t able to enjoy the outdoor areas as much as we had hoped. These holidays are a real investment for us, so it was quite disappointing. We would have appreciated being informed in advance, as we would have chosen a different Sandals resort. We raised the issue, but we didn’t feel that we were truly heard. That said, we are grateful that part of the staff was very kind and attentive. We may come back again, perhaps to a different resort next time.

I'm doing this review in a day by day format as that is how I ket the notes. We spent the night at the Marriott and took a cab over to Sandals and arrived at 8:45am for breakfast. We surprised them in the drive, but they were quick with cool towels and checked in without incident. Room not ready, but we expected that. Breakfast at the Greenhouse and now out and about. First pool in front of the St Laurence building at 9:00 and plenty of chairs The beach has plenty of chairs row 3 and back under the shade or in the open, your choice Entrances to the Caribbean Beachfront building are walled off, but the pool and pool bar are open. This building is under total remodel. Plenty of chairs. Yes, there is some construction noise. Rooms on all floors have plastic on the balconies, so all levels are getting work. From the saws being used this is more than paint and furniture. No seaweed in the beach. A few chairs, including umbrellas by the pool bar on the Royal side. Infinity pool has no chairs. Only a few butler coolers, so other guest have the chairs. As we wore our swim suits, we headed to the pool and relaxed. Our regular butler, De’Angelo came in at 2 and found us and took us to our room. Unpacked and just relaxed. Dinner was Neptunes at 7:30. Only about half full and very quick service. We then wandered over to Lovers Lanes (all 4 lanes were in operation) and sat outside to watch the ladies final 4. Day 2 Day 2 started a little slow after a late night drinking. Somehow we always end up doing that day 1. Wow, it's hot today. Had to come back to the room to cool off for a minute. I walked all the pools and beach like most mornings and plenty of chairs are available at all of them except the Infinity Pool. From the cooler count, only about 1/3 of the chairs there are butler guests. I know Saturday/Sunday are larger turnover days, but it feels empty. As our stay will be over Welcome Home Week, we went by loyalty to sign up for the activities. The SWAG being given out for Welcome Home Week is - 2 tee shirts 2 hats 2 insulated tumblers with straws A USB battery pack a canvas pool bag Not one person is at the hidden pool. Probably because of it's distance from any bars. Most of the day a the South Seas pool. I wandered down to the beach and the yellow flag was up due to the wind and waves. After a little rest in the room, it was off to dinner. Tonight was Sushi. Our last visit to Barbados was in 2023, but when we walked in Gilbert the Sushi Chef waved and came over for a hug. As always he made a couple of off menu items for us that were fantastic. We didn't have desert at Soy, so we walked past Cafe 'd Paris for a scoop of Rum Rasin ice cream. After dinner I decided ot walk around an check out the entertainment. I grabbed a glass of wine at Lovers Lanes and a couple dozen folks were settling in to watch the Final Four. On the main stage was a 3 piece band with a singer blasting out classic rock hits. She had a great voice, but I'm not a stage show guy, so I wandered on. The sky bar was a nice quiet retreat, so I sat at the bar for a while listening to the music in the distance and looking our over the lights of the city. My last stop was the Piano Bar where the player had a good crowd involved in a sing along. Day 3 The wife started with a 4 mile jog/walk off property. It’s a safe island, but be careful of potholes if you really run. Breakfast at Greenhouse was fantastic again. Chairs today right out front at the Oasis pool. A little overcast, but I think it will clear. Day 4 I started the day walking off property. I have worked out a route, leave the property via one side and walk the neighborhoods around and come back in the other side. Just a little over two miles. The area in Blue just outside the Barbados gate has a few bars, neighborhood restaurants and a few "Games Rooms" that advertise slots. Spent the day at the pool and just relaxing. Lunch right on the beach at Neptunes, wow - it's windy. Dinner was Butch's Steak & Seafood. Three out of the four dinners were great, mine - not so much. Had the prime rib, and while tasty - it was thin as paper. A little disappointing. Like most nights I stopped by the entertainment for a few minutes but ended up with a glass of wine at the Sky Bar. Day 5 As most days have been for us, breakfast at the Greenhouse. It's steps from out room, so it's easy. Did my walk again, but exited the Royal side and reversed the path. Back out to the South Seas pool today. Too much food and deserts, I'm getting fat. Tuesday, the Returning Guest Dinner. As I've said, I always go Welcome Home Week because they give away a free week (in points). As we arrived they checked out names off the list, had a glass of wine and hung around until the doors opened. The mold finally seems to be broken as the Chef was finally allowed to do something other than Surf/Turf. It was a wonderful fish dish (with a chicken back up for those who wanted it) Awards were given (levels & free weeks). This was handled well as they had apparently kept track of who was attending. All names were on the screen, but they skipped over the ones not attending so there was no pregnant pause waiting to see if someone was there when their name was called. So, if getting an award - RSVP. Now the bad part. It's a very hard room with a lot of echo. it was difficult to understand what speakers were saying and the band was too loud for the room. Day 6 - Off property tours Breakfast at Greenhouse again and then in the Barbados lobby to get on the bus. We had the choice of a catamaran trip or a bus tour of the island. When given the choice, a boat always wins. The bus ride to the boat reminded me of why I don't dive in Barbados - the bus ride through town. We were on a Cool Runnings boat, so can now compare it with the Silver Moon catamaran we have done in the past in Barbados. Cool Runnings was more of a party boat while Silver Moon is kind of more refined. The Silver Moon is limited to 12 guests while we probably had 40 on Cool Runnings. We stopped at two locations to snorkel both turtles and a wreck, then a sailing trip part way around the island. We anchored up for a nice lunch on board. Many of us jumped in after eating and just hung out in the water. Then a slow sail back to the dock for the ride back to the resort. It was a fantastic day. Dinner was Bombay which we love and of course, ate too much. I need to get home and back on my diet. Day 7 Relaxed at the resort to recover from a great catamaran trip yesterday. Used my spa credit with a 90 minute deep tissue massage and then back to the pool. Dinner was Butch's Chop House. For this trip, Chop House beat out Steak & Seafood. Day 8 It's Friday, the wrap up to WHW. While most trips we hit the buffet each morning, we are only steps form the Greenhouse and service has been great, so we have gone there each day. Back to the South Seas pool as the wrap up party was around this pool. The DJ was set up here and a lot more people than normal. The playmakers tossed pool toys in the water and made a party of it. Lunch was a buffet between the pool and stage, with tables and chairs set up on the lawn. After lunch they gave out tickets and had a drawing for a diamond/emerald bracelet from Colombian Emeralds. I must say, some Reunion Weeks/Welcome Home Weeks are better than others. This one was right up there with the really good ones. Dinner tonight at Chi. The menu was new from our last time here. Excellent. After dinner we walked the grounds for a while and ended up at eh Sky Bar again. After that a quick walk by the Piano Bar which had a good sized crowd singing. Day 9 As Day 9 begins I'm actually impressed I made it this far in my trip review. Not much to report. Relaxing around the pool then dinner at Portafino. Day 10 OK, I violated my rule and got chairs at the Infinity pool. It wasn't bad, but probably not really our speed. I really like a swim up bar. Dinner at the Chophouse again tonight. It was just as good as the first time and reinforces my opinion that Chophouse is much better than Steak and Seafood. Walked around a little after dinner, but bittersweet as it's our last night. Day 11 All packed and ready to go. Bags out and time to eat. Breakfast at Greenhouse one last time. Hung out in the butler lounge until it was time to go. We left private before the bus. On arrival at the airport the coach lines were down the hall, but priority for business class was quick. Through security fairly quickly then checked in to the Airport Executive Lounge. As airport lounges go, this one is more basic and self serve. Finger foods, bottles of wine & booze along with mixers. We boarded and took off on time. It’s nice that American Includes free WiFi if you have a frequent flyer account, so sign up. The pilot just made the prepare for landing announcement, so I guess this trip is officially over. With Global Entry Miami has always been easy and with a little luck we will be picking up the dogs by 10. The diet is now back on. The struggle is real after a Sandals trip.

We had a wonderful time at Sandals Royal Barbados! The atmosphere was energetic where you wanted to be and calming where you wanted to be. The room was very spacious and clean. The resort is only 10 minutes from the airport so that was a plus too.